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Humans to blame for global warming

Scientists '95 per cent sure' Humans are a significant factor in global warming

Scientists are now 95 per cent confident that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming, says an international scientific group.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said it was "extremely likely" that global warming as man-made as it adopted its assessment on the state of the climate system.

In its previous assessment in 2007 the UN-sponsored panel said it was "very likely" that global warming was man-made.

But it now says evidence has grown thanks to more and better observation, a clearer understanding of the climate system and improved models of rising temperatures.

"Our assessment of the science finds that the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has diminished, the global mean sea level has risen and concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased," said Qin Dahe, co-chair of the working group.

A report summary was published yesterday and the full 2,000-page Fifth Assessment Report will be released on Monday.

The IPCC raised its projections of the rise in sea levels to 10-32 inches by the end of the century from 7-23 inches in 2007.

The IPCC assessments form the scientific basis of UN negotiations on a new climate deal.

Governments are supposed to reach agreement in 2015, but it's unclear whether they will commit to the emissions cuts that scientists say will keep the temperature below a limit at which the worst effects can be avoided.

The report projected global average temperatures would rise between 0.3°C and 4.8°C by the end of the century.

Only two lower scenarios, based on significant cuts in CO2 emissions, came in below the 2°C limit that countries have set as their target in climate talks on avoiding the worst impacts of warming.

Climate activists said the report should spur governments to action.

"There are few surprises in this report but the increase in the confidence around many observations just validates what we are seeing happening around us," said World Wildlife Fund spokeswoman Samantha Smith.

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